Hamby, Texas. (original) (raw)
Hamby Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Mike Price, July 2009
Hamby History in a Pecan Shell
Where Taylor County meets the corners of Shackelford, Jones, and Callahan Counties.
Originally (and appropriately) called �Corners� for shared boundaries with its neighboring counties, the town�s namesake was Georgian Hamby Richardson. Richardson was a store owner who opened the community�s first business shortly before 1900.
A post office was granted in 1902 � in Richardson�s store. �Corners� had been rejected as a name by the bureaucrats in Washington so friends of the storekeeper/ postmaster suggested applying under his Christian name.
After the establishment of the post office several other businesses opened and it looked like Hamby was on its way. But in 1919 the post office closed. By the time the Great Depression had arrived, Hamby had a mere 20 people living there.
Hamby�s school was two miles south of town � established in 1903. The Baptist Church was established in 1906, followed by the Methodists in 1907. That same year the school was moved to Hamby and a second story was added for lodge meetings.
After WWII Hamby�s population was around 100 � a figure that continued to be used through 2000.
A visit to Hamby, Texas:
Photographer's Note:
Town, what little there is of it, is centered around the churches and school. The VFD built this very elaborate building a few years back. Probably the fanciest VFD structure I've ever seen. Don't remember there being any businesses other than an odd one or two at any one time over the years, and virtually nothing remains of those. - Mike Price, July 2009
Hamby Church Of Christ
Photo courtesy Mike Price, July 2009
Hamby, Texas Forum
Subject: Life in Hamby
Along with the Fire Station and Churches shown, there is an old rock house with pecan trees in the front yard. I lived in that house in 1947-48. Went to school for a year at the 2 room Hamby School and then on to North Junior High School in Abilene.
Our water was pumped by a windmill to a two story cistern at the back of the house. The only inside plumbing was running cistern water to the kitchen sink. A one hole outhouse lent itself to emergency situations, etc. In the summer we took our baths in a bath house type of room beneath the cistern fitted with a shower head. In the winter it was a No. 2 washtub in the warmth of the kitchen. A butane tank, which is still there, did furnish fuel for an O'Keef-Merritt(sp) oven and a couple of Dearborn stoves.
My Dad worked for Guy Paxton and Paxton Poster Service on South Oak St. My Mom was an employee of T. S. Langford & Sons on Walnut Street.
An interesting aside concerning Hamby Richardson and one of his great, great, great grand daughters. She was the first girl that I ever dated. We went to a football banquet at North Junior High School in 1948. Ah, history ! It never stops....................... .
Keep up the good work at Texas Escapes. I love it !! - Ellis Bewley, May 14, 2011
Hamby Vol. Fire Dept.
Photo courtesy Mike Price, July 2009
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